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Yung Miami is clapping back at speculation she’s in pursuit of NFL draftee Shedeur Sanders. On Sunday (April 27), the former City Girls rapper responded to someone on X who implied she was “making it sooo obvious” that she romantically wants Sanders. “Y’all b—hes don’t know what ‘supporting your ppl’ look like!!!!” she wrote in […]
Strong subscription revenue helped Universal Music Group’s first quarter revenue rise 11.8% year over year (or 9.5% in constant currency) to 2.9 billion euros ($3.05 billion at the average exchange rate in the first quarter), the company announced Tuesday (April 29). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also rose 11.8%, to 661 […]
Davido won artist of the year and digital artist of the year at The Headies, which recognizes African contemporary music and Afrobeats. The show was held on April 27 at The Landmark Event Centre in Lagos, Nigeria, marking the show’s return to Africa after holding its last two ceremonies in Atlanta. The show was livestreamed on YouTube (U.S.) and Hip TV (Nigeria).
Davido also took the stage to present the Next Rated award — an honor he described as “the most important” of the evening — to Odumodublvck. “I won this award 12 years ago, and I know firsthand the hard work and dedication it takes to get to this point,” Davido said. Odumodublvck also won best rap single.
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Rema as well as Chike and MohBad were also double winners on the night. Rema won album of the year and Afrobeats album of the year, both for Heis. Chike and MohBad won best collaboration and the viewers choice award, both for “Egwu.”
Tems won best recording of the year for “Burning.”
For the first time, the show was hosted by a woman — Nigerian actress and model Nancy Isime. Isime also performed, accompanied by Fire and Desire. Other performers included Blaqbonez, L.A.X., Qing Madi, Ayo Maff, Magnito, Juma Jux, L.A.X., INNOSS’B (DRC), Kcee, Odumodublvck and Shallipopi.
Temitola Adekunle Johnson, senior special assistant to the president (OVP) on job creation, and influencer and philanthropist Michelle Mukoro (King Mitchy) received the humanitarian award for their commitment to uplifting underprivileged communities across Nigeria.
“I want to thank the entire entertainment and creative industry, you have come a long way,” Johnson said in accepting the award. “Back in the days, we used to just be happy to watch the Grammys, but now, during Grammy nominations, people are saying how many Nigerians were nominated — that’s how far we have come.”
The 17th Headies Awards show also paid homage to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, executive governor of Lagos, for his dedication to the creative sector.
For his contributions to the creative industry and innovative leadership in advancing the digital ecosystem across Africa, Alex Okosi (managing director, Google Africa) received the special recognition award. Amaju Pinnick (chairman/GCEO Brownhill Group) also received the special recognition award for his contributions to Nigeria’s creative and cultural industries.
The Headies Awards, originally called the Hip Hop World Awards, was established in 2006 by the Hip Hop World magazine of Nigeria to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry.
Only music materials released and distributed on digital streaming platforms, and physical music media within the eligibility period (April 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024) were considered for nominations.
Here’s the complete list of nominations for the 2025 Headies Awards, with winners marked.
Artist of the year
WINNER: Davido
Ayra Starr
Asake
Rema
Tems
Burna Boy
Song of the year
“Showa” – Kizz Daniel
“Commas” – Ayra Starr
“Egwu” – Chike and Mohbad
WINNER: “Lonely at the Top” – Asake
“Ozeba” – Rema
“Big Baller” – Flavour
Album of the year
Born in the Wild – Tems
WINNER: Heis – Rema
The Year I Turned 21 – Ayra Starr
Stubborn – Victony
Work of Art – Asake
Rookie of the year
WINNER: Zerry DL
Taves
Kaestyle
Llona
Best recording of the year
WINNER: Tems – “Burning”
Seyi Vibez – “Different Pattern”
Burna Boy – “Higher”
Ayra Starr & Giveon – “Last Heartbreak Song”
Sarz featuring Lojay – “Billions”
Best vocal performance (female)
Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song”
Niniola – “Level”
Simi – “Stranger”
WINNER: Liya – “I’m Done”
Tomorrow – “Yemi Alade”
Best vocal performance (male)
WINNER: Lojay – “Billions”
Omah Lay – “Moving”
Anendlessocean – “Gratitude”
Johnny Drille – “For You”
Timi Dakolo – “Ke Na Ke So”
Best collaboration
“Emotions” – Tiwa Savage Feat. Asa
“Blood on the Dance Floor” Odumodublvck, Bloody Civilian and Wale
“Cast” – Shallipopi feat. Odumodublvck
WINNER: “Egwu” – Chike and Mohbad
“Ole” – Qing Madi and Bnxn
“Twe Twe” Remix – Kizz Daniel and Davido
“IDK” – Wizkid feat. Zlatan
International artist of the year
Wale – “Blood on the Dance Floor” (Odumodublvck)
Skepta – “Tony Montana” (feat. Portable)
Chris Brown – “Hmmm” (feat. Davido)
WINNER: Travis Scott – “Active” (Asake)
Chloe Bailey – “Vision” remix (Qing Madi)
Music video of the year
“Charm” – Rema (Rema X Perliks X Folarin Oludare)
“Metaverse” – Olamide (Jyde Ajala)
“Like Ice Spice” – Blaqbonez (Perliks & Emeka Shine Shine)
“Ojapiano” – Kcee (Mattmax)
WINNER: “Egwu” – Chike & MohBad (Director Pink)
“Showa” – Kizz Daniel (Tg Omori)
“Na Money” – Davido feat. Cavemen, Angelique Kidjo (Dammy Twitch)
Songwriter of the year
Simisola Kosoko – “Stranger” (Simi)
WINNER: Chimamanda Pearl Chukwuma – “Vision” (Qing Madi)
Michael Ajuma Attah – “Can’t Breathe” (Llona)
Emoseh Khamofu – “Family Meeting (Bloody Civilian)
Fuayefika Maxwell – Stages of Life” (Wizard Chan)
Producer of the year
Sarz – “Happiness”
WINNER: London – “Ozeba”
Magicstick – “Basquiat”
Rema/Producer X/Cubeatz/Deatz/Kilmberboy – “Hehehe”
Dibs – “Different Pattern”
Best R&B single
Qing Madi – “Vision”
Johnny Drille – “For You”
Simi – “Stranger”
Tems – “Burning”
WINNER: Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song” feat. Giveon
Best rap single
WINNER: “Cast” feat. Odumodublvck – Shallipoppi
“Blood on the Dance Floor” feat. Bloody Civilian & Wale – Odumodublvck
“Hallelujah” – Ladipoe, Rozzz & Morrelo
“Canada” – Magnito
“Ije Nwoke” – Jeriq
Best street-hop artist
Seyi Vibez – “Different Patterns”
Ayo Maff – “Dealer” (feat. Fireboy Dl)
Shallipopi – “Cast” (feat. Odumodublvck)
Zhus Jdo – “Johnbull”
WINNER: Mohbad – “Ask About Me”
Afrobeats single of the year
“Big Big Things” – Young Jonn feat. Kizz Daniel and Seyi Vibez
“Twe Twe Remix” – Kizz Daniel
“Egwu” feat. Mohbad – Chike
“Remember” – Asake
“Ogechi” remix – Hyce, Boypee, and Brown Joel feat. Davido
WINNER: “Big Baller” – Flavour
Lyricist on the roll
Mogadishu – A-Q
Chocolate City Cypher – M.I Abaga
Chocolate City Cypher – Blaqbonez
WINNER: Hallelujah – Ladipoe
Efeleme – Alpha Ojini
Best inspirational single
“Gratitude” – Anendlessocean
“Worthy of My Praise” – Dunsin Oyekan feat. Lawrence Oyor
“Good God 2” – Limoblaze feat. Naomi Raine
“Particularly” – Gaise Baba feat. Tope Alabi
WINNER: “You Do This One” – Mercy Chinwo
Headies’ viewers’ choice
“Big Big Things” feat. Kizz Daniel and Seyi Vibez – Young Jonn
“Ogechi” remix feat. Davido – Hyce, Boypee, And Brown Joel
WINNER: “Egwu” – Chike & MohBad
“Showa” – Kizz Daniel
“Different Pattern” – Seyi Vibez
“Ozeba” – Rema
“Love Me Jeje” – Tems
“Cast” feat. Odumodublvck – Shallipopi
“Dealer” feat. Fireboy Dml – Ayo Maff
“Big Baller” – Flavour
Best West African artist of the year
Black Sherif (Ghana) – “January 9th”
King Promise (Ghana) – “Terminator”
WINNER: Himra (Ivory Coast) – “Coulibaly & Diabaté”
Josey (Ivory Coast) – “Venez Bouger”
Toofan (Togo) – “Tone”
Best East African artist of the year
Bien (Kenya) – “Wahala”
Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania) – “Mapoz”
WINNER: Juma Jux (Tanzania) – “Enjoy”
Bruce Melodie (Rwanda) – “When She’s Around”
Azawi (Uganda) – “Masavu”
Best North African artist of the year
Mohamed Ramadan (Egypt) – “Arabi”
Elgrande Toto (Morocco) – “Maghribi”
WINNER: Soolking (Algeria) – “Tiki Taka”
Balti (Tunisia) – “Dima Mechi”
Abu (Eygpt) – “Hollela”
Best Southern African artist of the year
WINNER: Titom (South Africa) –“Tshwala Bam”
Yuppe (South Africa) – “Tshwala Bam”
Tyla (South Africa) – “Water”
Kelly Kay (Malawi) – “Bana Pwanya”
Plutonio (Mozambique) – “Acordar”
Zee Nxumalo (South Africa) – “Thula Mabota”
Best Central African artist of the year
WINNER: Innos’B (DRC) – “Sete”
Gaz Mawete (DRC) – “Dendisa”
Emma’a (Gabon) – “Biso Mibale”
Eboloko (Gabon) – “Satanana”
Singuila. (Central African Republic) – “Sin Saison”
Kocee (Cameroun) – “Credit Alert”
Best rap album
Sideh Kai – Illbliss
Eziokwu – Odumodublvck
Alaye Toh Se Gogo Vol. 1 – Reminisce
WINNER: Family Time – Erigga
Shiny Object Syndrome – Modenine
Soundtrack of the year
Eledumare – Teledalese (Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre)
Lose to Gain – Kaline (Breath of Life)
Kill Boro – Native Filmworks & Wizard Chan (Kill Boro)
Orisa – Beriola (Orisa)
Emotions – Tiwa Savage & Asa (Water and Garri)
WINNER: Tribe Called Judah soundtrack – TCJ & Abbey Wonder (A Tribe Called Judah)
Next rated
Qing Madi
Shallipopi
WINNER: Odumodublvck
Ayo Maff
Nasboi
Afrobeats album of the year
Stubborn – Victony
Work of Art – Asake
The Year I Turn 21 – Ayra Starr
WINNER: Heis – Rema
Jiggy Forever – Young Jonn
Best performer (live)
Rema – Ravage Uprising: Rema Live From The O2, London
Omah Lay – Live at L’olympia Paris
Flavour – Celebrating You 2023
Wizard Chan – Live in Concert Port Harcourt
WINNER: Burna Boy – African Giant Live From London
Femi Kuti & The Positive Force – Nuits De Fourvière (Arte Concert)
Digital artist of the year
Ayra Starr
Rema
Shallipopi
Tems
WINNER: Davido
Kizz Daniel
Asake
Humanitarian award
King Mitchy
Special recognition
Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo A.K.A Kcee
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Yung L.A. had fans holding their breath this past weekend after he passed out mid-performance at a club in South Carolina.
The Atlanta rapper, known for his 2008 hit “Ain’t I,” which is currently having a viral comeback thanks to TikTok, was in the middle of his set when things took a wild turn. In video footage that quickly made the rounds online, Yung L.A. is seen handing off his mic to a woman on stage, then suddenly collapsing face-first onto the floor.
Two of his homies rushed in to help, trying to lift him up, but he slipped right through their arms and hit the ground again. Instead of panic, the men were caught laughing, which helped calm fans down and sparked rumors that it wasn’t anything serious, just too much liquor and not enough water. Sources close to the rapper say he’s doing fine and recovering, and fans are relieved to hear it’s not a medical emergency. It’s clear Yung L.A. is back on the scene, riding the wave of his classic track’s resurgence, and the momentum’s only picking up.
He’s even been announced as part of Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash ATL this year, where he’ll be repping during the Salute to Atlanta set. Despite the scare, fans are hyped to see him hit that stage, hopefully this time with a little less turn-up and a lot more balance.
Hugh Forrest is out at South By Southwest, four months after assuming leadership of the music, tech and film conference, following a decision by the SXSW board to select Penske Media Corporation executive Jenny Connelly to lead the festival, Billboard has learned.
Connelly, a longtime executive vp of product and technology at PMC and a SXSW board member, has been appointed director in charge of the annual event in Austin. Consequently, Forrest was offered the opportunity to retain his titles as president and chief programming officer, reporting to Connelly in her new role, according to PMC. “When Hugh was told he wasn’t going to get the CEO role at SXSW, and would be reporting to her, Hugh made the decision to leave SXSW,” said the spokesperson for PMC, which has had control of SXSW for two years and is also Billboard‘s parent company.
Since joining PMC in late 2017, Connelly has overseen multiple teams responsible for engineering, data, IT, product and SEO, and also leads the subscriptions and email teams. Pre-PMC, Connelly was senior vp of product at Dreamworks NOVA, tasked with bringing that company’s 3D imaging technology to other industries. Earlier, she spent seven-plus years at Live Nation Entertainment, rising to senior vp of digital at Live Nation Studios.
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Connelly is based in Los Angeles but has begun traveling to Austin on a weekly basis, the company said.
“I’m happy to announce that after 3+ years on the SXSW board of directors, I’m now working as Director in Charge of SXSW,” she said in a social post on Tuesday (April 29), adding she’s “working with a killer group of dedicated, creative & skilled people who throw the world’s most influential festival. We are dreaming up the evolution of this event, so that SXSW never stops helping creative people achieve their goals.”
Several other key moves were announced Friday (April 25) during a company town hall as part of ongoing succession planning at the festival, the PMC rep said, along with additional promotions for festival veterans Peter Lewis, Greg Rosenbaum and Brian Hobbs. The organization said it has several open jobs to fill at SXSW.
Forrest declined to comment on last week’s chain of events when reached by Billboard but remarked in a statement over the weekend that “leaving South by Southwest was definitely not my decision,” adding, “I put my heart and soul into this event for more than 35 years, and I was looking forward to leading several more editions.”
Hugh Forrest speaks onstage during the 2023 SXSW Conference at Austin Convention Center on March 10, 2023.
Diego Donamaria/Getty Images
Forrest joined SXSW in 1989, when it was in its nascent stage, and spent the bulk of his tenure as chief programming officer. In 2022, he was promoted to co-president alongside then-chief brand officer Jann Baskett, succeeding the retiring CEO Roland Swenson. Forrest became the sole president late last year following Baskett’s departure to start her own consultancy.
As president, Forrest had been tasked with driving business growth and collaborating closely with the event’s board of directors, which includes co-founder Swenson, Jay Penske (CEO of Penske Media and SXSW’s largest shareholder) and Amy Webb (CEO of the Future Today Institute), among others.
The company told Billboard that the 2025 edition achieved the highest sponsorship revenue in the event’s history, while the SXSW EDU conference had its best turnout since its 2011 founding.
The Austin Chronicle hinted at a wider staffing shakeup at SXSW, reporting on Saturday (April 26) that “another 10 or more staff members … have left the company, either through previously planned departures or unexpectedly.” One departure, James Minor, the vp and head of music at the conference, was one of those planned exits. Minor told the Austin American-Statesman on Sunday he “already had plans to leave SXSW in motion for the fall.”
Founded in 1987 by Swenson, Nick Barbaro, Louis Black and Louis Jay Meyers, SXSW has grown into a globally influential event in Austin, which also now includes satellite events like the two-year-old SXSW Sydney and the upcoming debut of SXSW London, which launches in June. Swenson, who led SXSW for 36 years, transitioned to executive chairman in 2022.
The leadership change follows a recent announcement that next year’s conference will be on the shorter side, running from March 12-18, with interactive, film/TV and music programs happening concurrently. The reduction in days — and by extension, the number of showcasing music artists and shows — is due to the $1.6 billion redevelopment of the Austin Convention Center, which is underway. The new center, expected to open in 2029, will nearly double its size and focus on accessibility and sustainability. “A shorter SX gives attendees more of a chance to be here for the entire run,” a spokesperson told Billboard at the time.
Note: Billboard’s parent company PMC is the largest shareholder of SXSW and its brands are official media partners of SXSW.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
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The Liberal Party won Canada’s general election in a stunning turnaround, seen also as a rebuke of the actions of President Donald Trump, celebrated on social media.
On Monday (April 28), Canada held its federal election, which resulted in the Liberal Party pulling off what is considered a surprising victory after trailing in polling by as much as 25 points for months. The victory is also considered a sharp rebuke by the nation towards American President Donald Trump, who has antagonized the nation through erratic tariffs and declaring that it should be America’s “51st state.”
The win gives the center-left party a strong edge to claiming the majority in Canada’s parliament with 168 seats – it needs 172 seats, otherwise it would mean working with rivals to form a coalition government. The Conservative Party, while holding 144 seats in Parliament, was rocked as leader Pierre Poilievre lost his riding seat in Ontario to a Liberal opponent. Poilievre had been seen as someone who would be more conciliatory towards Trump and his MAGA principles. He will still be considered the Conservative Party’s de facto leader.
In a victory speech, Prime Minister Mark Carney delineated the new climate of global affairs, aiming at the United States under Trump as no longer being a trusted ally of Canada. “The system of open global trade anchored by the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped deliver prosperity to our country for decades, is over,” he said, adding: “These are tragedies, but it’s also our new reality. We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves and, above all, we have to take care of each other.”
Trump has maintained his stance on Canada, adding more fuel to the fire in an interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg and acknowledging his impact on the election: “I don’t even know if it’s a close call. But the conservative, they didn’t like Governor Trudeau too much, and I would call him Governor Trudeau, but he wasn’t fond of that,” he said. Social media also pointed out Trump’s impact as they congratulated Canada on the Liberal Party’s win. “The only thing Trump did in his first 100 days was unite Canada,” wrote Alex Cole in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
SZA crowns both the latest Billboard 200 albums chart and the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart dated May 3. While it’s customary for star acts to lead both lists simultaneously, SZA does so differently than the way that the feat is usually achieved.
As previously reported, SZA’s album SOS rebounds for a 13th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Concurrently, Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther,” from Lamar’s album GNX – not SOS – logs a milestone 10th week at No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Since the beginning of the 2020s, only three acts have led the charts simultaneously but with a Hot 100-topping song not from the album at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The two prior to SZA: GNX headed up the Billboard 200 as Lamar’s stand-alone single “Not Like Us” led the Hot 100 for a week in February and Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as the then-four-year-old “Cruel Summer” ruled the Hot 100 for a week in November 2023.
Comparatively, in a hefty 50 weeks this decade, and continuing coordination common since the ‘60s, acts have doubled up atop the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 with albums and songs from those sets. Most recently, Lamar did so twice via GNX: the LP was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as “Luther” (March 15) and “Squabble Up” (Dec. 7, 2024) topped the Hot 100. Leading the way since 2020, Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time and its smash “Last Night” spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 side-by-side. (The set and song reigned for 19 and 16 total weeks, respectively.)
Prior to SZA, Lamar and Swift earning such commands, no act had scored such a divergent double-up since August 1997, when Diddy (then Puff Daddy) was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with No Way Out (with The Family) while being featured with Mase on The Notorious B.I.G.’s Hot 100 leader “Mo Money Mo Problems.” Among artists in lead roles, none had earned the honor before SZA, Lamar and Swift since 1975, when, for two weeks that January, Elton John’s Greatest Hits led the Billboard 200 as his cover of The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” not on the collection, topped the Hot 100.
The recent relative uptick in the feat suggests that songs’ success can be less tied to album campaigns than in the past. In the case of the acts above, the reign of “Luther” aligns with the recent reissue of SOS; “Not Like Us” was re-diss-covered after Lamar performed it at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show and it won five Grammy Awards, all within an eight-day span in early February; and “Cruel Summer” was revived from Swift’s 2019 album Lover, partly from fan fervor as she performed it early in the run of her The Eras Tour.
Meanwhile, in a digital era, artists can more easily release single tracks than before, while the likes of TikTok and media synchs can more randomly spark popularity for songs not on albums that acts are simultaneously promoting.
Further tying Lamar and SZA together, GNX is No. 2 on the Billboard 200, while the stars kicked off their co-headlining Grand National Tour April 19.
Mike Peters, the lead singer of Welsh rock band The Alarm died on Tuesday (April 29) at age 66 following a decades-long battle with cancer. The death of the author of such strident 1980s alt rock anthems as “Blaze of Glory,” “Spirit of ’76,” “Sixty Eight Guns” and “The Stand” was confirmed in a statement from the group’s publicist titled “Totally Free.”
As the lone remaining original member of the punk-turned-rootsy rock group formed in Rhyl, Wales in 1977 (originally known as The Toilets) Peters continued to tour and release music during a three-decade battle with several forms of cancer, putting himself up as an indefatigable advocate for blood cancer patients.
Last April, before launching a 50-date U.S. tour, he was diagnosed with Richter’s Syndrome, an aggressive form of lymphoma. According to the release, even after extensive treatment at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, U.K., including experimental therapies, doctors could not halt the cancer’s progress.
Michael Leslie Peters was born in Wales on Feb. 25, 1959 and logged time in early Hairy Hippie and The Toilets, forming the latter after being inspired by a Sex Pistols show he attended in 1976. Teaming up with childhood friend and bassist Eddie McDonald, as well as drummer Nigel Twist and guitarist Dave Sharp — initially as Seventeen — the group gelled as The Alarm in 1981, when they were signed to Miles Copeland’s IRS Records, the early indie rock home of groups including R.E.M., The Go-Go’s, Fine Young Cannibals, Wall of Voodoo and many more.
They got a crucial break when U2’s agent saw them live and invited the band to open for the then-ascending Irish group in December 1981. Their sound — a mix of acoustic roots rock, new wave balladry and howling, uplifting anthems — began to gain traction as they supported U2 on that band’s 1983 War tour.
The hard road work paid off on the Alarm’s 1984 debut album, Declaration, which spotlighted Peters’ sensitive, heartfelt lyrics on tracks including the opening salvo, “Marching On.” The anthem for youth found him wailing, “These are the kids they’re powerless/ So you tell them so/ These are the kids they’re powerful/ Don’t say you haven’t been told.”
Setting the tone for the next two decades, the album also featured such fist-in-the-air shout-along hymns to fortitude and fight as “Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke?,” “We Are the Light,” “Blaze of Glory” (not to be confused with the Bon Jovi song of the same name) and one of the Alarm’s most beloved calls to arms: “Sixty Eight Guns.”
The song mixed a jaunty rockabilly-meets-mariachi horns sound with another one of Peters’ rallying cries for misunderstood youth, in this case inspired by a late1960sGlasgow street gang who went by the song’s title. “They’re after you with their promises/ Promises of love/ They’re after you to sign your life away,” Peters sings in his signature urgent, raspy yowl. “Sixty-eight guns will never die/ Sixty-eight guns our battle cry/ Sixty-eight guns,” he adds on the chorus.
The group expanded their sound on 1985’s sophomore effort, Strength, which added some churchy organs to the title track and added a handful of other classics to their live repertoire, including the synth-speckled “Knife Edge” and yet another heart-pumping call to arms, the harmonica and piano painted homage to the band’s early origins, “Spirit of ’76.”
They would release three more albums during their initial run, including 1987’s Eye of the Hurricane — featuring their signature ballad, “Rain in the Summertime” — as well as 1989’s Tony Visconti-produced Change, which got them their first and only Billboard Hot 100 top 50 hit with “Sold Me Down the River” (No. 50). That album also represented one of the group’s chart peaks in America, topping out at No. 75 on the Billboard 200 album chart; Strength hit No. 39 in February 1986 and Declaration ran up to No. 50 in April of 1984.
Among their other Hot 100 charting singles were “Strength” (No. 61), “Rain in the Summertime” (No. 71) and “Presence of Love” (No. 77).
After the release of their fifth, and final, LP by the original lineup, 1991’s Raw, the band split up and got back together just one more time, for an episode of VH1’s Bands Reunited, in October 2003. Peters continued his musical march with the Poets of Justice band featuring his wife, Jules Peters, on keyboards, as well as releasing his first solo album, Breathe, in 1994, one year before his first cancer diagnosis.
Peters was diagnosed with non Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1995, battling that form of cancer, as well as later being twice diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia in 2005 and 2015. Taking on the disease with the same vigor that fed his songs, Peters co-founded the music-driven charity Love Hope Strength with his wife Jules — who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 — as a means to raise awareness around stem cell donation. The organization’s “Get on the List” campaign at his shows helped add more than 250,000 people to the global stem cell registry.
The singer also kept a sparkle in his eye amidst his health battles, releasing an album by his hoax teen group The Poppy Fields, in 2004, scoring a hit on British radio with the blitzing “45 R.P.M.” Though the song clearly featured Peters’ signature vocals, at the time he said the masked effort was an attempt to shake-up the media’s perception of the by-then 20-plus year old band by concealing their identities and enlisting a group of younger musicians in the band the Wayriders to pose as the veteran act.
In addition to solo singles and albums, Peters, who shared the stage with icons including Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan over the years, performed with the indie/new wave supergroup Dead Men Walking with members of The Mighty Wah!, The Damned and the Sex Pistols and briefly joined on as the lead singer of Scottish band Big Country in 2011 following the death of singer Stuart Adamson.
In addition to touring, Peters performed the “highest show ever” on Mt. Everest in 2007, where he was joined by some other 1980s new wave legends, including Cy Curnin and Jamie West of The Fixx, Glen Tillbrook of Squeeze and Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats for a show to raise cancer awareness. A tireless advocate for cancer awareness, Peters shared his stories with his fans and encouraged them to join him on mountain-climbing treks to Mount Kilimanjaro and the Himalayas and released a documentary in 2018 on the BBC about Jules’ cancer battle, While We Still Have Time.
Peters posted from his hospital room in January, his signature shock of long blonde hair shaved down to a slim mohawk, as he shared a new song, “Chimera,” which he said celebrated his receipt of his CAR-T cell therapy on what he called his “new birthday.” Peters booked a series of shows in June of this year in Wales, dubbed “The Alarm Transformation Weekends,” in advance of the upcoming release of his final album, Transformation. He also completed the second volume of his memoirs, Volume 2 HOPE – 1991-2005.
Check out some of The Alarm’s most beloved hits below.
Udio, a generative AI music company backed by will.i.am, Common and a16z, has partnered with Audible Magic to fingerprint all tracks made using the platform at the moment they are created and to check the generated works, using Audible Magic’s “content control pipeline,” for any infringing copyrighted material.
By doing this, Udio and Audible Magic have created a way for streaming services and distributors to trace which songs submitted to their platforms are made with Udio’s AI. The company also aims to proactively detect and block use of copyrighted material that users don’t own or control.
“Working with Audible Magic allows us to create a transparent signal in the music supply chain. By fingerprinting at the point of generation, we’re helping establish a new benchmark for accountability and clarity in the age of generative music,” says Andrew Sanchez, co-founder of Udio. “We believe that this partnership will open the door for new licensing structures and monetization pathways that will benefit stakeholders across the industry from artists to rights holders to technology platforms.”
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Last summer, Udio, and its top competitor Suno, were both sued by the three major record companies for training their AI music models on the companies’ copyrighted master recordings. In the lawsuits, the majors argued this constituted copyright infringement “at an almost unimaginable scale.” Additionally, the lawsuits pointed out that the resulting AI-generated songs from Udio and Suno could “saturate the market with machine-generated content that will directly compete with, cheapen and ultimately drown out the genuine sound recordings on which [the services were] built.”
Udio’s new partnership with Audible Magic stops short of promising to eliminate copyright material from its training process, as the majors want, but it shows that Udio is trying out alternative solutions to appease the music establishment. Suno also has a partnership with Audible Magic, announced in October 2024, but the two partnerships believes these deals hold key differences. Suno’s integration focus more specifically on its “audio inputs” and “covers” features, which allow users to generate songs based on an audio file they upload. With Audible Magic’s technology, Suno prevents users from unauthorized uploads of copyrighted material.
“This partnership demonstrates Udio’s substantial commitment to rights holder transparency and content provenance,” says Kuni Takahashi, CEO of Audible Magic. “Registering files directly from the first-party source is a clean and robust way to identify the use of AI-generated music in the supply chain.”
